Saturday, 30 September 2017

FIFA 18 is the most realistic football game of all time...

With FIFA continually dominating the
football franchise, it must be becoming harder for EA Sports to
continually polish the game each year. Yet, FIFA 18 has done it once
again with intelligent gameplay and stunning presentation throughout
all the modes.

From playing with
friends, to competing against others to creating your own football
story, FIFA 18 has everything you could ask for and is a must buy for
any football fan.

And for any FIFA
fanatics, GAME are offering an exclusive version of the Ronaldo edition
that will not only give you three days early access and Ronaldo's card
for a few Ultimate Team games, but also a Pele football and a real life
Ultimate Team jersey. And on top of that, pre-order any version of FIFA
18 from GAME and get a NOW TV entertainment pass for a whole month!

Face scans for Premier League and other top European managers adds a nice touch to games

With
any game, the actual gameplay itself is crucial. FIFA has always been
such a polished game that the gameplay has never needed an overhaul.

That
doesn't mean that there haven't been changes though. Playing FIFA 18
feels different - the pacing is slower than in previous years but in a
good way. It's methodical, it's intelligent. Gone are the years of
mindlessly sprinting down the wing (although of course that does still
occasionally work) and instead beautiful, flowing, passing football is
encouraged.

And it is now a lot easier
to play that style of football because defenders are actually vulnerable
again. Last year, scoring goals was pretty difficult because the AI
would do most of the defending for you.

Now,
that onus is back on you, and it results in a lot more goals and much
more interesting games. My first Ultimate team game finished 4-3, and
most of them followed suit. Sacrificing pace by no means sacrifices fun,
you just have to work for your goals which feels much more satisfying.

And
speaking of satisfying goals, shooting feels better than ever before.
Finesse shots actually feel useful for the first time since they were
overpowered back in FIFA 12 but this year they remain balanced, finesse
shots float into the far corner but only in the right situation.

+8

Lukaku and Pogba would be proud of the screamers you can score with revamped long-shots

And
now long shots feel meatier, you really feel the pace and power behind
the ball. Finesse shots should float into a corner but if you're lacing
it with Ronaldo, the ball should rocket past the goalkeeper and that is
now the case, those shots really do feel lethal.

FIFA
18's gameplay couldn't be much truer to real matches but it is off the
pitch, behind the scenes where the game really blossoms into something
special.

The FIFA franchise has been
dominant for years to the point where they can only really make small
changes at a time. And it is the tiny details that long-time fans will
really appreciate.

Online benefits
hugely from a tiny countdown that plays after every pause, meaning you
are never caught off-guard after your opponent randomly pauses for 30
seconds. And on top of that, you can queue pauses during cut scenes
meaning it is easier for you to make some substitutions after you have
just conceded, or ideally if you just scored and want to cement your
lead.

+8

FIFA's huge list of stadiums continues to grow with grounds such as Brighton's Amex (above)

Or
if you don't want to fiddle around and waste time on the menus, the new
'quick subs' feature is one of the best additions to the game. With the
press of a button, you can make a predetermined substitution during a
cut scene; saving valuable playing time and also ensuring you remember
to keep some fresh legs on the pitch.

And
online in Ultimate Team will be funner than ever with the edition of
Icons. Replacing the legend cards, Icons offer three versions of every
legend with each representing a different stage of their career.

Not
only does it mean you have more chances of packing an Icon or receiving
an Icon for your draft, Playstation 4 players can join in the fun as
for the first time as legends were previously exclusive to Xbox.

+8

Icons replace legends on FIFA 18 FUT which are available to both Playstation and Xbox players

Another
welcome feature in FIFA 18 is the return of Journey mode as Alex Hunter
goes abroad. A change of scenery adds a heaping of style to the
addictive story mode that will have its own review later this week.

The
story opens with Rio de Janeiro as the stunning backdrop and the mode
makes the most of new regionalised stadium atmospheres and broadcast
overlays with a pre-season tournament in Los Angeles.

Now
that Hunter is further into his career, we get a real feel of what it
is like being a professional footballer, including the mad rush of the
press and agents during deadline day.

+8

Rio de Janeiro is the stunning backdrop to the opening scenes for this year's Journey mode

You now have a wealth of options to customise Alex Hunter including neck tattoos and shoes

And Journey isn't the only mode to do that. This year, career mode feels more realistic and immersive than ever before.

Press
conferences bring the news bar to life but the real star is the new
transfer negotiation system. Now, when trying to buy a player, you go
into an interactive cutscene in which you speak with opposition managers
and agents in order to negotiate your deals.

We
all know the funnest part of career mode is the transfer window and
this makes it even funner! It allows you to negotiate a transfer fee and
wages all on the same day. You no longer have to waste two crucial
weeks of the window haggling the price of a player.

Plus
if you want to solve a transfer quickly, you can delegate it to another
staff member, giving them your financial restrictions and allowing them
do all the hard work for you.

New transfer negotiations add an extra layers of depth as a welcome change to career mode

It
rejuvenates career mode and is a feature that upon reflection, was
sorely needed. And on top of that, another beloved mode that needed some
love is Pro Clubs.

New skill trees,
similar to what you find in other games such as the Far Cry series,
means it easier to customise your player than ever before. You can even
have three saved slots of skill progression, meaning you can fill in at
centre back or striker for you team without having to worry about
changing all of your player's stats jsut for one match.

And for extra customisation, you can even create your own away kit for bonus style points!

Every
mode in FIFA 18 has improved since its predecessor, and with more
challenging gameplay and interactive crowds, it's an incredibly
satisfying experience. The wait for the next Saturday 3:00pm kick-off is
too long, this fills that football craving.

Beautiful
scenery, beautiful passing moves, beautiful shots. We've repeatedly
heard football labelled as the beautiful game but that doesn't do FIFA
18 justice, it is outright gorgeous.